Marquee WR-CB matchups highlight Training Camp practices

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants concluded their practice today with one of the most exciting sequences of training camp when the first, second and third teams all had an opportunity to run a two-minute drill.

The starters gave the fans in attendance the highlight of the day. Eli Manning threw a fourth-down touchdown to Evan Engram and then a two-point conversion to Brandon Marshall to pull out a “victory” against the defense. Marshall beat second-team All-Pro cornerback Janoris Jenkins on the decisive play. But Jenkins had another take on his duel with Marshall.

“It’s cool, man,” Jenkins said. “We have to understand they’re (the offense) going to make plays. What you guys (the media) call it, we don’t call it beat. We call it competing. You have to finish a certain type of way in practice, so that’s how I push back.”

The Giants cornerbacks face the daily challenge of trying to cover Marshall, Odell Beckham, Jr., and, when he returns to the field, Sterling Shepard. They likely won’t face an opponent with a better trio all season.

“It’s good,” Jenkins said. “You get to compete with different types of guys. Quick guys, big guys, fast guys, strong guys - and then you get to work on technique and fundamentals. I feel like with the receiving corps that we have, we get to work on all of that.”

The Giants also have a top trio of corners in Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Eli Apple. The veterans are constantly giving pointers to Apple, the Giants’ first-round draft choice in 2016.

“Oh, he can be good,” Jenkins said. “As a matter of fact, he can be special. He’s long, he’s physical, he’s fast. But it’s about fine-tuning the details of the game and understand what’s coming and understanding formations. And once he gets that down, I think he’ll be pretty special.”

*Jenkins on safety Landon Collins, who was a first-team All-Pro last season.

“He’s contact-crazy, he knows the scheme and he loves to play football,” Jenkins said. “He’s a smart guy. You can tell he was in a great college system at the University of Alabama, and it shows.”

*Engram on his touchdown late in practice:

“Coach (Ben) McAdoo is always on me about playing fast and just going, and I played fast, took the middle of the field, and had to make a great play for my team,” he said. “Plus, we were in great position. We were in a situation where it was the last 50 seconds, we were trying to tie the game up, so I just had to make a play.”

*Both kickers – first-year pro Aldrick Rosas and 13-year veteran Mike Nugent – have impressed in practice. McAdoo has not revealed how he will split the kicking duties Friday night in the preseason opener vs. Pittsburgh.

“They both kick very well,” McAdoo said. “It will be a tight competition.”

*The Giants, who did not have a fullback on their roster last season, have two in camp: Jacob Huesman, a former quarterback at Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Shane Smith of San Jose State.

“They are different players,” McAdoo said. “Huesman is a guy who is learning the position. He knows the game, but he is new to the position. It will take some time for him to fit his pads in there. Smith is a guy that is a very physical, heavy-handed type player. He plays with good leverage. He showed his good hands today and did a nice job.”

*Shepard, who rolled his ankle last week, continued to do individual drills, but did not participate in the team portion of practice.